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Tom Reed,who previously covered the Blue Jackets for The Dispatch, is back after a five-year absence while working for the newspaper in that city up north: Cleveland. Follow him on Twitter at @treed1919

Devo Camp, Day 4

So it went this afternoon in the Ice Haus, where the Jackets wrapped up their annual development camp with a wide-open, 3-on-3 tournament in front of a good-sized gathering of hockey-starved fans.

The Jackets split their prospects in three teams that played four, 12-minute games, each of which ended with a shootout regardless of the score at the end of regulation.

It was a format designed for maximum fun.

“That’s why they play,” Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. “To score goals and compete. That’s what they did in their backyard. That’s how they started.”

It was shinny with goalies, and the goalies stole the show, allowing only a handful of goals during game-ending shootouts in which every skater took a turn.

“(Goaltending coach) Ian Clark said ‘oh, the goalies get the short end of the stick,’” said Jackets development coach Chris Clark, who ran the four-day camp. “I said they’ll end up on top anyway. We’ve got pretty good goalies. I think they did well today.”

Forwards Peter Quenneville and Alex Wennberg and defenseman Dillon Heatherington led their team to the tournament championship with a 6-4 win in the final game, but it was the goalies who kept the scorelines respectable.

“They were unbelievable,” said Sonny Milano, picked by the Jackets in the first round of last month’s draft. “They were making crazy saves. Elvis, I made a backhand move and he just robbed me, straight robbed me.”

After three days of drills that included a grueling skating test on Wednesday, it was time to blow off steam. Several prospects got creative with their shootout attempts . Mid-air whacks, stutter steps and toe drags were the norm.

“We did (tell them to have fun),” Clark said. “But it would have come out anyway. That’s this generation with the shootouts. We see it in the NHL games. Guys are trying new things, the spin-o-ramas and all that. If we didn’t say anything, they would have done the exact same thing.”

It was rule-breaking time, a precious and rare thing.

“I think we all enjoyed it,” forward Oliver Bjorkstrand said. “It wasn’t too serious, not too much hitting. But we still wanted to win. We’re all competitive. I enjoyed it. You could really go for the breakaway if you wanted to. I know I did. I thought there were going to be more goals in the shootouts. But the goalies did pretty good there. “

The prospects attended a dinner with fans at the arena last night and will undergo exit interviews and post-camp physicals this morning before departing.

Next up for most of the Jackets prospects will participate in the annual prospects tournament hosted by the Detroit Red Wings in Traverse City, Mich., from Sept. 12-16, immediately before NHL training camps open.

Kekalainen, as usual, is looking forward to it.

“It always carries a lot of weight,” he said. “The best players at that tournament usually make the NHL right away. Guys who are ready or close to it usually rise to the top and you can see it. It’s a great tournament to evaluate players.”

The players dig it, too.

“You’re playing other teams and they have guys that want to make their teams, too,” Bjorkstrand said. “Those are tough games, and they’re fun.”

Kekalainen said Ryan Murray, Boone Jenner and Valeri Nichushkin of Dallas were the best three players at last year’s event. All three made and stuck with their NHL teams.

Side dishes

--The American Hockey League announced it will use a seven-minute overtime before going to shootouts this season. The final four minutes will be 3-on-3, a format backed by Red Wings general manager Ken Holland and a growing number of other GMs and one used last year at the Traverse City tournament. “I support it,” Kekalainen said. “As much as people like shootouts, I’d like to see games decided in either regulation or overtime more than they are right now. I think the 3-on-3 element will add that.”

--Right wing Josh Anderson entered camp with “shoulder soreness,” Chris Clark said, and was limited during the week, though he took his turns in the shootouts yesterday..

--Defenseman Will Weber, signed on Wednesday, will earn $600,000 at the NHL level and $80,000 at the AHL level this season. Forward Sean Collins, signed on Tuesday, will earn $620,000 (NHL) and $80,000 (AHL).

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